‘Showrooming’ Is the Shopping Wave of the Future

Showrooming is a trend that continues to cause traditional brick and mortar stores problems.

For those of you in the dark, showrooming is when someone goes to a store to test or look at a product before buying it online. It's a practice that really gained attention during this past holiday shopping season and shows no signs of weakening.

A survey of more than 2,100 people (more than 820 of which have showroomed) found that Best Buy is the most likely store to be victimized, courtesy of the 23% of people who admit doing it there. Walmart checked in at number two, with 21% and Target came in third, with 12%.

Amazon is the site that benefits the most from this recent phenomenon. Fifty-seven percent of respondents made their showrooming purchases there.

When men showroom, there tends to be more money on the line. They spend an average of $210.10 when showrooming, while women only cough up an average of $137.10.

And with 59% of respondents admitting they’d rather research a product on their own phone than by talking to a salesperson, it seems like getting people to open their wallets in stores is a growing concern.

What can stores to make sure customers actually purchase items on the premises? The survey found that more than 80% all people felt the following would be crucial factors in the decision to make purchases in store as opposed to online:

Taking the merchandise home on the spot (86%)

Benefitting from in-store sales over online prices (84%)

Not having to worry about the problems associated with returning items online, like shipping or packing (83%)